“To the critic the work of art is simply a suggestion for a new work of his own, that need not necessarily bear any obvious resemblance to the thing it criticizes. The one characteristic of a beautiful form is that one can put into it whatever one wishes, and see in it whatever one chooses to see; and the Beauty, that gives to creation its universal and aesthetic element, makes the critic a creator in his turn, and whispers of a thousand different things which were not present in the mind of him who carved the statue or painted the panel or graved the gem.”Were that every viewer approached art as Wilde's archetypal critic does!
- Oscar Wilde, 1890
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Wilde's Critic
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2 comments:
I usually dont go too much for Wilde's work or ideas, but this is true when you broaden it to all those who view art. Critics love to take possession of art in their reviews and pretend to understand and make it available to the reader, when it is available all along. They create tangents to themselves so they can be more important than the work, the controlling Priests when ones soul should go straight to God. The viewer or listener should always take in the work with far more than just the tiny portion of the frontal lobe where words are created, and use ones entire being, mind, body and soul. FEEL it.
This is why SELF expression is a dead end, art is expressIVE, the highest Common denominator. It doesnt matter what the artist thought or felt, that was never his intent. My life is irrelevant, the work is a triggering mechanism of ones entire being, the more successful the more intense and unified a non verbal response.
Logic and reason are irrelevant. They are manmade tools, not truth, which IS arts domain.
Save the spiritual Watts Towers(Nuestro Pueblo). Destroy the Pharisees of the Ivories.
Give them real, relevant art and a good portion will. I took two classes of kids to LACMA recently, and they laughed at the stupid Contemporary self indulgent stuff, out of the mouth of babes, and at least were respectful with the Modern. And some actually like it, alot. We will never get everyone, I figure about 20% is our audience, art isnt, or wasnt, entertainment. But done right as the highest Common denominator, people from all races, sexes and cultures will feel something essential in what they view or hear. Something that pulls them in and back. Thats arts roll.
I taught a two hour class aferwards with fifty large prints I did at my job of modern art from rousseau, cezanne and gauguin to Rufino Tamayo, Romare Bearden and a chinese artist i know plus my ex wifes collages, and they copied then did their own versions and were slowly drawn in.
We must get past this selfish expression as taught in the schools, art was never that, and no true artist ever thought such a dumb heresy. That is the way to tame us, make it therapy and irrelevant. We express ourselves in everything we do, its inevitable but NOT the point of art. Nor the way to connect with those from far different cirumstances but of the same species. When art returns to its roots, the rich will shudder, for the declawed lap puppy will have grown into the guard dog it was alawys meant to be. And finaly have some stones.
See ya at Artinfo, they have some good blogs now and you on their blogroll. Well, all but MANs tyler green, hubristic wuss, Even the InView guy attacked him for his self absorbed, and effette ways of pseudo journalism.
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